Woe is Amy Tuck. Our state’s lieutenant governor is learning a tough lesson about life — other people don’t always play fairly and they certainly don’t always share your notion of what is right.

We know Ms. Tuck thought she was doing the right thing Sunday night when she chose to block a small group of legislators who were using the state Senate chambers to wage a personal protest against the state flag.

The lawmakers chose to attract attention to their cause by utilizing an outdated law that allows senators to have 110 budget bills read aloud before voting on them. Originally the law was made for early legislators who were illiterate.

Ms. Tuck thought, rightfully so, that the lawmakers were letting their personal feelings get in the way of finishing the budget process.

Ms. Tuck, like many of us, thinks that part of an elected official’s duty is to look beyond personal beliefs and do what is best for their constituents.

Ms. Tuck’s only mistake was in making the assumption that lawmakers are mature enough to comprehend the importance of setting aside one’s personal agenda in order to save time and money.

Oh, we wish Ms. Tuck was correct in thinking that those legislators would, when the issue was pointed out to them, see the error of their ways.

We don’t envy the lieutenant governor. It was a no-win situation.

If she did nothing, the lawmakers would have continued to drag the state constitution through the mud. She tried to solve the situation by simply doing the right thing and that landed her squarely in front of the state Supreme Court — twice!

As pathetic as it is that a small group of lawmakers has chosen to waste incredible amounts of time and money for personal gain, what’s more pathetic is that Ms. Tuck never saw it coming.

We’d like to think that once all is said and done, Ms. Tuck will learn the hard lesson that building a consensus first can help eliminate problems before they happen.